The Hardest Part
by MellyHorror-Salvatore-Northman
Summary: Jade wonders just how much Tori paid that boy to ask her out. One-Shot. Tumblr Request. Rated T.


**Jade wonders just how much Tori paid that boy to ask her out. One-Shot. Tumblr Request. Rated T.**

"I mean really Jade, Beck was a nice boy. Why'd you have to dump him?" My mom ranted angrily, I scowled, trying to see the TV around her, "And now you're telling me that you don't even want to try and date someone else? I'm sure there are plenty of boys willing to date you!"

"Mom, the last boy that asked me out, or tried, was paid by two people to ask me out. Now please leave me alone!" I bit down hard on my cheek to keep from screaming at her. Her arms are crossed over her chest and her fingers drumming on her arm.

"Well maybe if you took all that paint off your face and smiled once in awhile boys wouldn't have to be paid to go out with you. You should have accepted." I turned off the TV, "how much was he paid?"

"I don't fucking know, _mother. _Now please, leave me alone!" I stomp past her out of my room and downstairs into the kitchen. And being the pain in my ass she is, she followed me, still doing on about finding a nice boy to date. I tune her out. I had no intention of finding a boy to date.

I pull open the fridge door and grab a can of soda, "look mom, do you want to know the honest truth?" I say, spinning to face her. She narrows her dark brown eyes at me, "Beck was my cover, and there's only so long he can stand to look like he's cheating on me before I can't force him to 'date' me anymore."

"What are you talking about?" she sounds baffled. I roll my eyes.

"Mom, I'm a lesbian." She freezes up, sets her jaw and frowns, "Well?"

She cocks her head to the side, "then find a nice girl to _date! _Jesus Jade, you're almost 18! Why can't you just find a nice girl and settle down!"

"Mom! I haven't even graduated high school! I'm not looking for marriage right now, I'm looking to graduate and going into acting and directing! If the right girl comes along then fine!"

She scowls, leaning against the counter, "I just hate seeing you alone all the time."

"No, you hope that I'll find someone and they'll keep me from going into acting, and make me settle down and become a lawyer. It's just not going to happen mom." I open the soda and lean on the counter across from her, "I love to act, and I love to write, and I love to entertain people."

"So how much do you think it cost her?"

"Bye mom." I roll my eyes and move away from the counter, heading straight back to my room. Why should I care how much money Vega spent on getting some guy to go out with me? But as I sat and tried to work on a script it turned out to be more important to me than I thought.

"Time to pay Vega a little visit." I sighed, picking up my jacket, pretending this was the biggest inconvenience of my life. In reality the prospect of Vega in her short jogging shorts had me grinning. She had fantastic legs, "mom! I'm going out! I'll be back soon!"

"Call if you're out past midnight!" I glanced at the clock, it was only ten, so I would probably be back way before then. I grabbed my keys as I moved out the door, humming a random tune in my head. Before going to Vega's I stopped to get some coffee, and feeling generous, I bought her a hot chocolate, too.

At the front door I had to wait for Miss Vega to answer the door, "Jade, nice to see you, dear." She smiled, stepping back and letting me in, "go ahead upstairs, Tori should be back from her jog soon, I'll let her know you're here." And she walked off, phone pressed to her ear and her voice a whisper. She'd probably forget about me before Tori got home.

I let myself into Tori's room and set her hot chocolate on her computer desk beside my coffee, walking in a circle around her room to see if anything had changed. She still had those same purple sheets with the white comforter, the same boring pictures of places she'd never been, white curtains over her bedroom window and closet doors that hung open to reveal her bright array of clothing and shoes.

Since there was nothing interesting to do in her room I sat on the computer chair and went onto theSlap, signing her out without blinking and signing into my own profile and check my messages and snoop around profiles of everyone else.

Tori posted an update via her phone: _can't wait to get home and take a hot shower. I love running but it's so cold out! _Her mood was 'brrr' with a shivering smiley face. I rolled my eyes and scrolled past, hearing the door open about five minutes later.

"Mom! I'm home!" I didn't hear a response and her feet came up the stairs. I logged out of the slap and shut off her monitor, turning off the screen as she pushed her door open, arms above her head, shirt half off, blocking her from seeing me and giving me the best view of her abs.

She turned her back to me and tossed her shirt aside, opening her dresser drawer and grabbing something out of it before she pulled off her shorts, "lace underwear, Vega, on a run, really?" she screamed and jumped, stumbling into her dresser before spinning and glaring at me, the shirt clutched in her hand pressed over her body to shield it from my eyes.

"Why are you in my room!"

"Your mom let me up, said she'd tell you, guess she forgot." I shrug, "got you hot chocolate." I point to it, sipping my coffee, still staring at her.

"How long were you going to wait to tell me?"

I shrug, "I was going to tell you when you walked in but I didn't want you to hurt yourself while you were blind." _No I just really wanted to stare at those abs,_ "how much did you pay that guy to ask me out?"

"What?" she asked, blinking at me with wide eyes, "that's why you're here, to ask how much I paid someone to ask you out?"

"You invaded my personal life, only fair I'd invade yours." I retort, acting mock offended even though I couldn't really give a shit or not that Vega had paid someone to ask me out, big friggen deal.

"Twenty bucks."

"I'm only worth twenty bucks?" I sit up, raising an eyebrow at her. Her cheeks take on a rosy color.

"I figured any guy would love to ask you out…even for a little bit of money….Andre said thirty…" she mumbled something else that I couldn't hear, staring at her feet.

I stand and walk over, pinning her between me and the dresser, glaring down at her, "what was that?"

"I said paying him wasn't…" she started to mumble again, I stepped closer, loving the way her perfume and shampoo seemed to mingle together. Her skin was still cold and I could feel it rolling off of her, she looked petrified.

"What was that, Vega?"

"Paying him…that wasn't even the hard part." She mumbled. Anger seized my heart and I really wanted to punch something, "just paying someone-no some guy-to ask you out sucked. But I figured you wouldn't say yes to _me_."

I'm about to yell at her for paying someone to ask me out regardless of who it was, was an asshole move, when it sinks in what she said, "You wanted to ask me out?" she looks up at me, smiling nervously and nods. I take a step back so she doesn't looked like a scared caged animal and turn my back on her, sipping my coffee before placing it on her desk.

When I turn to face her again she's still standing by her dresser, but she doesn't look terrified anymore. She looks completely baffled. What do I tell her? That I would have gone out with her? That I wouldn't? Was I too scared to tell Vega, of all people, my real feelings? Yes, I was terrified to tell her, out loud, that I liked her.

"You're an idiot." I mumble, mostly to myself, and step up in front of her, "I would have said yes." I cup her cheek in my hand and lean down to kiss her before she can say anything else. Her lips are cold and chapped but her mouth is warm. She drops the shirt and puts her arms around my neck, pulling me closer.

I pull away when I hear footsteps on the stairs, "Hey Tori!" her mom calls through the door.

"Ye-ah?" her voice cracks and she blushes. All I can do is pray her mother doesn't open that door and see her half naked young daughter in my arms, pressed against me looking giddy and winded.

"Jade's here."

"I know, I saw her when I came in."

"Don't stay up too late, girls." She calls, her footsteps retreat down the hall and then down the stairs. Tori looks over at me and smiles and then laughs. I laugh too, and duck my head to kiss her again, softly, slowly, enjoying how different it is to kiss someone I really like.

When she pulls away I fully step back, "I'll see you at school tomorrow." I tell her, grabbing my coffee.

"You're just leaving like that?"

"Gotta tell my mom my girlfriend spent twenty bucks to get a guy to ask me out because she was too chicken to do it." I wink at her over my shoulder and open the door, "I'll see you tomorrow Vega."

"Okay Jade." She smiles at me, and I smile back before walking down the stairs. When I get into my car I can't up but squeal in delight, and afterwards I look around to make sure nobody sees me. I catch Tori peering at me from the window beside her door and she's just grinning away. She blows me a kiss before I quickly back out of the driveway, cheeks hot.


End file.
